


Game

by inabodycastofglass



Series: Old works [9]
Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 15:12:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7513021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inabodycastofglass/pseuds/inabodycastofglass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a game they played of glances and smirks, nothing else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Game

She kicked her feet idly as she stared up at him, watching him prepare their snacks and tea with utmost interest. Her body stretched across the couch much like a cat. You could almost see a long tail slowly curling and waving. Though every time his eyes traveled over her figure, she would smirk and he would look away. At one point he knew she was teasing him. She would stretch out, curl herself, and or just turn ever so slightly. It was her expression that made him believe it wasn’t her usual sexual naivety. Her lips twitched at the corners every time he would glance over, and her eyes lay half-lidded and even more sharp in the corners than usual. This was their usual routine.

And she would giggle every time he got a little blush, squirming a bit. She knew he enjoyed looking at women, having never been one to keep to quiet about that fact. And they both knew nothing would come of it, him being unable to touch women and all. So it was all in good fun.

But all in good fun was threatened when she propped herself up and her elbows, her back stretching out, her shirt slipping up to reveal just a bit of skin. He took notice of how prominent her spine was.

She caught his eyes, all impish and teasing. But something in them made it so he couldn’t look away, they had captured his gaze and were holding it ransom. she glanced down and his eyes followed, landing on her lips. But this was normal. He spent a lot of time looking at her lips, letting his imagination travel as much to kissing her as caressing her and… other things he often felt he should apologize for thinking, but couldn’t bring himself to admit to her.

He blushed when he saw her lips curve into a smile, all coyness and seduction. Or perhaps that was his own interpretation. With Natalia you never could tell.

"Guy.“ He looked back to her eyes, now more devious than before. His name was a purr from her curvy lips. "Do you like me?”

He stopped breathing. She had taken their innocent game and made it real. Did he like her? Yes, yes he did. He liked her very much. He liked her coy expressions when she was teasing him. He liked how she walked when she wasn’t paying attention, and then how her walking would change when she realized he was watching. He liked the way she could be totally oblivious one moment, and then hold full control the next. He liked how she encompassed both sides of the coin of strength and weakness. He liked her kindness and her stubbornness and her natural grace. He liked that she was a woman through and through.

He liked that this game was just between them. When another girl tried playing with him, he would only smile politely and move on with only a few glances. When someone else tired to play with her, she would only look horrified. He’d always assumed it was because he was “safe”. Not that that thought hadn’t caused him enough distress over the past couple of years.

He found himself nodding without giving his body permission to. His eyes opened wide, not quite able to comprehend that he’d admitted such a thing. Quickly he looked away, concentrating on finishing the sandwiches he was making, though he wasn’t so sure they would be sitting down for tea today. His hands shook as he cut them, enough that he wasn’t sure he should be using a knife. The feeling he felt was painful in his stomach and his head. It was fear of a woman without a touch, and he liked it less.

"Guy.“

He froze mid cut. Slowly he turned to face her, his heart beat collapsing the walls of his throat, making every movement difficult and uncomfortable.

She was sitting on the arm of the couch, hands pressed on each side to hold her up so she could lean into him. She was grinning, her expression otherwise unreadable. He wanted to ask what she was thinking, but couldn’t find it in himself to speak. He knew though, that she was making fun of him, teasing him like she always did. She had just taken it up a level.

"Kiss me.”

He hadn’t heard her right. He couldn’t have. He just stood there, watching her, waiting for some kind of signal to prove she was joking. It must have been ten minutes and still she was sitting there, smirking at him, only the impatient tapping of her fingers had changed.

"Princess?“

"Guy, please. You don’t have to call me that. Simply ‘Natalia’ is fine. And if you don’t kiss me, I will kiss you.”

His knees buckled at the threat. Yes, threat. This take charge aspect of her personality was quite possibly his favourite and inspired more than a few of his fantasies, but in real life the idea made his heart race in a way that was not pleasant in the least. Still, this was their game, and he had lost. This was his penalty.

So as he took a step forward his hands started to shake. Another and his heart rate sped up. Another and it threatened to break free and come out his neck. One more and he lost his ability to breathe.

But with another his palms started to sweat. Again and his lips trembled. Standing in front of her his stomach raged and his vision blurred. Her satisfied expression gazed up at him; she loved being in control, and she loved winning. And this he liked about her. But she hadn’t won yet, in her eyes. Not until their lips touched would she win.

But to him she had won long ago. She had won that day when he was seventeen when his stomach first fluttered at her smirk. Only now was he admitting his loss.

He hadn’t realized how close they were until his lips were right over hers and he was shaking. He couldn’t see her. He couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes and look at her. Once he knew for certain that it was her under those lips, he would lose his nerve.

Without touching her he felt her lips tighten as her smirk grew. Even the little sensation caused him to stall. He had to force himself to breath, to relax. He laughed that he could even think such a thing was a possibility. How long had it been?

He forced himself to count down from five. Once he reached zero, he would do it.

Five - her breath was so warm when mixed with his.

Four - the slow movement of her chest could keep time. She was so much more calm than could ever be possible for him.

Three - Her scent was of light roses and vanilla. It fit her, almost too well. Regal and tempting, and soft and deceiving. And amazing no matter what your preference.

Two - Why did she want him to kiss her?

One-

She giggled and he’d fallen to the floor before he was able to comprehend what had happened. He looked up at her, his breaths coming in uneven, sporadic gasps. His body was screaming at him, why had he done such a thing? And his mind was too muddled with everything that had just happened to be able to work out a proper answer. He could still smell her perfume on him as if far more than a near kiss had happened. He had never been close enough to smell her before.

She was looking down at him, appearing just as shocked as he felt. “Guy, I-” She stared, open mouthed. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking-” She couldn’t say anything more.

He chuckled awkwardly, his voice hoarse. He wouldn’t be surprised if the shock had literally made him lose his voice. “Don’t worry about it, Princess. I just got a little in over my head.” His voice was raspy, but he could barely hear it. The sound of his heart was still beating in his ears. He needed a glass of water, but he was struggling to hold himself up.

She shook her head. Her expression was apologetic and… hurt. “No, it is my fault. I forced you to do such a thing and then… I got scared.” She smiled again, no deviousness this time, just sadness.

She was scared? Of his kiss? He could only stare, not fully comprehending such a thing. The drum of his heart became so loud all other sounds were drowned out. All except her voice.

"Guy. I am going to kiss you now.“ She knelt down, between his legs, leaning in close. Green outlined in yellow lashes filled his vision as her face rested just above his own. She paused for a moment as roses and vanilla was all he could comprehend. Everything else became simply a muddled, frightening blur.

And she kissed him, resting for a moment while neither breathed, and she pulled away. "Good bye, Guy.”

He didn’t see her leave, didn’t hear the door shut with a soft click, didn’t notice her presence disappear. It was a brief touch, light, less overbearing than someone trying to hold his hand or give him a hug, but more frightening than anything he’d ever faced before. He was too shocked to even shake. He lifted his fingers to his lips, feeling a bit of lipstick left over from their touch. It was just that and the smell of roses and vanilla left. And that was exactly what he dreamed about that night.


End file.
